Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Animated supervillain tale has lots of violence, potty humor
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Henchmen
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Luther (Thomas Middleditch) is a young boy fascinated with comics who wonders why the bad guys never win in HENCHMEN. Flash forward several years, and teenage Luther has the opportunity to make his dreams come true by joining the Union of Evil and moving to Supervillain City. As an orphan, he doesn't have to worry about leaving family behind. Janitor Hank (James Marsden) is assigned to supervise Luther. The two begin to grow close, especially when they find they must join forces to combat evil supervillain Baron Blackout (Alfred Molina). To do so, they'll need to rely on each other and get help from their friends, including a female scientist (Rosario Dawson) Hank has his eye on.
Is It Any Good?
By prioritizing action over story, the makers of this movie miss an opportunity to better exploit the acting chops of Molina, Dawson, Marsden, Jane Krakowski, and others in its stellar voice cast. Instead, the muddled and largely uninteresting tale relies on fast-paced violence, potty jokes, and some awkward interludes of rock music. Viewers who might appreciate the humor, bodily functions, and flimsily-stereotyped superheroes are probably too young for its violence. The characters begin to interact in a more meaningful way toward the end, but it's too little too late. If you really wanted to search deeper, you might interpret in Luther's superpower suit a subtext about humans being prisoners of our own emotions. But it's unlikely Henchmen will inspire such reflection.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Luther's dream of becoming a supervillain in Henchmen. Is it true that bad guys never win? Should they?
What did you think of Supervillain City? Did it look like any animated locations in other movies you've seen?
The superpower suit Luther stumbles into is emotionally responsive. What did you think of this idea? Can you think of other movie characters who have trouble harnessing the powers of their suit, or who have no powers without their suit?
If you found a dream-fulfilling "what-if-ium," like the one depicted in the movie, what would you ask it for?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 6, 2018
- On DVD or streaming : October 9, 2020
- Cast : Rosario Dawson , Alfred Molina , James Marsden
- Director : Adam Wood
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s) , Indigenous Movie Actor(s) , Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : BRON Studios
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Superheroes
- Run time : 82 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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